Vehicles are becoming increasingly equipped with a wide range of systems including features that may be adjusted by a user of the vehicle. Consider, for example, a vehicular audio system wherein a user (i.e., a driver or passenger) may be required to choose from multiple audio sources (e.g., CD, XM radio, FM radio, AM radio, onboard hard drive, an auxiliary source, etc.), and then from a plurality of features associated with the selected audio source (e.g., tracks for a particular CD, stations for FM radio, audio files for the onboard hard drive, etc.). At the same time, the user may be permitted to fine tune the audio system's tone balance (e.g., adjust the relative levels of bass, treble, mid-range tones, etc.), adjust the system's volume, and/or manipulate the appearance of the a display (e.g., time display for CD tracks, broadcast text display for radio, graphic equalizer display, backlight color, etc.).
To help manage the ever-growing number of vehicular systems and system features, interfaces have been developed that allow users to control multiple vehicular systems. One known user interface, referred to as a Driver Information Center (DIC), includes a plurality of buttons and a display (e.g., a liquid crystal display) capable of displaying several lines of characters. The DIC is typically disposed on the vehicle's center stack located between the driver seat and the front passenger seat so that the controls may be accessed by either the driver or a front passenger of the vehicle. To utilize such an interface, a user navigates through a tiered hierarchy of menus to view and select amongst various vehicular systems and system features. Tiered menu structures of this type can become relatively complex and often require that a user advance through several different levels of menus to locate a desired feature. Additionally, such menu structures may not permit the simultaneous display of multiple groups of system features.
It should thus be appreciated that it would be desirable to provide a user interface employing a relatively intuitive and shallow menu structure (i.e., comprising no or few tiers). It should also be appreciated that it would be desirable to provide a means for utilizing such a user interface, such as a user control assembly mounted on the steering wheel and thus readily accessible to the driver of a vehicle. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.